late realisations (and decisions just in time)
by cissarego
Summary: Emma doesn't want the darkness to take over her completely. After being let down by Hook, she makes a harsh decision. Regina is the only one who can save her life.


This is my first Swan Queen fic. I hope I managed to stay in character. All mistakes are my own, please let me know if you find anything that needs to be fixed. I hope you enjoy it! Please, don't forget to leave a comment and tell me what you think about the story!

* * *

Regina held the pulsing organ in her hand with confusion in her eyes.

"I don't understand." The former Evil Queen said with frustration. "I read this over and over. If the darkness didn't take the majority of the heart, it should be expelled by a true love's kiss. It's the most powerful thing."

"This is useless, Regina. Put it back."

The soft but harsh voice hit the brunette as she still stared at the almost fully crimson heart in her hand. There was a big amount of black in it, but it was still mainly red. She moved her gaze to meet green eyes that once were shiny and full of life. Emma Swan's eyes were definitely not the same. Regina could see that the darkness was taking its toll.

"If that pirate didn't spend so much time putting eye-liner on, he would be able to provide a proper true love's kiss." Regina said with spite as she pushed the heart into Emma's chest. "Perhaps we should call him again for another try. Where is he anyway?"

"It doesn't matter. He is gone." Emma said dryly.

"What do you mean he is gone? Where is he?" The brunette asked, turning her attention to Mary Margaret and David who were sat on the sofa, surrounded by spell books and parchments.

"Well, I guess Hook didn't take very well the fact that he is not Emma's true love." Mary Margaret said, frowning.

"True love or not, he shouldn't have left. He left me when I needed him the most." Emma said facing the floor.

"I knew he was bad news from the beginning." David said while flipping through the pages of a book.

"Believe me, you're better off without him dear." Regina said, taking a big tome in her hands. "I will find a way Emma. If it's the last thing I do."

"Regina…" Emma said shaking her head, her gaze still on the floor.

"I know the answer will be here somewhere. Your heart is not completely taken by darkness and we will stop this before it goes any further. You won't go dark Emma." Regina said as she turned the pages of the book in her hands.

"Regina, please… You know what is the only choice we have." Emma said slowly.

"Miss Swan, this is out of the question. I will find something."

"There is nothing to be found. There is no other way." Emma raised her voice.

"No!" Regina said, closing the book violently. "This is not an option."

"We talked through this. I don't want to become fully dark. I don't want to harm my family, my friends. It needs to end. My parents accepted it, even Henry accepted it. You have to let go of it. You have to let go of me." Emma said standing up.

"Wait, Emma, sweetheart, we didn't just accept it. It's not that simple. The true love's kiss with Hook didn't work and we can see how worried you are about becoming truly dark. But if Regina says that there is another way, then we obviously would prefer to find this other way." Mary Margaret reasoned with her daughter.

"It's not her decision to make. Or yours." Emma said with no emotion in her words.

"Curious thing, Miss Swan. I don't remember being consulted when you took that dagger in your hands a few months ago. I don't remember being asked if I agreed with you sacrificing yourself to save me. That was not your decision to make. And you made it anyway. How is this different?" Regina asked with rage and despair in her voice.

"It's not. Only this time we don't have any other choice." Emma said with sadness.

"No one will agree with this. No one will do it." Regina said between her teeth.

"Someone already have." Emma said, raising her gaze for the first time to meet Regina's.

"Who?" Regina asked with surprise.

"Someone who never misses a shot."

* * *

Regina parked the Mercedes on the driveway and walked as fast as she could to the front door. She shakily fit her key in the keyhole, her head spinning faster than she could control it. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't. She knew she could find another way, but she needed more time. Closing the door behind her, she placed her bag on the side table and walked through the halls of the mansion, looking in every room.

"Robin? Are you home?" She said louder than normal.

"Regina! Where have you been?" Robin asked, frowning.

"You don't get to ask questions, Robin. What on earth are you thinking?" Regina asked, enraged.

"What are you talking about, Regina?"

"Emma! I'm talking about Emma!" She said, raising her arms in frustration.

"It's the only way. She needs someone to do it. I never miss a target. So I said I'd do it." Robin said, with a careless tone.

"It is not the only way! I will find a way!" Regina said bringing her hands to her head in despair.

Robin sighed heavily and took a step closer to the brunette. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Regina, this has to stop. You are obsessed. You're never home anymore, you don't pay any attention to me. All you do is bury yourself in those gigantic books, trying to find a way to save Emma. Maybe Emma doesn't want to be saved. Maybe you should let go of her and pay attention to your new family." He said in a soft voice.

Regina felt sick. She felt like she could vomit. She couldn't believe in the words that just left Robin's mouth. He couldn't be serious, it was not possible that he meant it. She felt compelled to push herself away from Robin and so she did.

"She is my family. She is the mother of my son. I can't just let her do this." Regina said, her eyes wide, fixed on Robin's.

"It's her choice. Maybe it will be better for all of us like this." Robin said, trying to approach Regina once more.

The brunette took a step back, avoiding contact with the man who frowned once more and sighed.

"Look, Regina, I can't take this any more. Do you think I'm blind? Do you think I don't see the way you look at her? That you have always looked at her? We are together but you were never really mine, were you?" Robin asked enraged.

"I don't know what you are talking about. But in case you're memory is failing you, Emma saved my life when she took that dagger. It was supposed to be me. And my heart is already dark enough. It wouldn't take any more darkness. If it wasn't for Emma, I would probably be dead." Regina said.

"I know that. Everyone knows that. But it's her choice. Your true love's kiss theory didn't work so the only way to take the darkness away from her is killing her. She told me exactly how it's going to happen. I'll shoot an arrow in her heart and as soon as the dark one spirit return to the dagger, Leroy will destroy it for good. It's the only way." Robin said, approaching Regina once more.

"No!" Regina said, avoiding his contact again. "The kiss didn't work because that pirate is not Emma's true love."

"Who is it, then?" Robin asked, looking into the brunette's eyes. "Who is it, Regina?"

Regina felt her eyes pool with tears. She knew the answer, she knew it, deep down, but she couldn't say it. What if she is wrong? What if she was wrong from the beginning? She watched as Robin sighed once more and shook his head, facing the floor.

"You're on your own, Regina." Robin said, turning his back.

"Robin, wait!" Regina said, grabbing his arm. "Please. Please don't do it. You can't kill her." She begged, feeling a tear roll down her cheek.

Robin pulled his arm from Regina's grip and carried on walking towards the door. He stood under the door frame and looked back at the brunette.

"I'm sorry." He said as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Regina collapsed on the floor, bringing her hand to her face, trying to stop the tears that insisted on falling from her eyes. She couldn't make herself accept this, she would never be ok with Emma giving her life in order to avoid the darkness to take her completely. Regina knew darkness, she knew it better than she knew herself and, for that reason, she knew that darkness could be fought. She knew Emma had the strength to fight against it but the blonde lacked confidence. There must be a way, she thought. This could not be it.

The brunette didn't want to think about a world without Emma Swan. The woman who was once her nemesis and slowly became an ally, a friend, and even much more than that. she couldn't explain why saving Emma's life was so important to her. It was, obviously because of Henry, but it was more than that. She knew that Emma Swan meant to her much more than she was ever able to find words to describe. She wouldn't let her die. She couldn't. Even if the price for that would be seeing Emma becoming truly dark, beyond salvation by the true love's kiss. She thought again that she knew darkness and if she had to, she would become dark again. For Emma saved her life in all ways a life can be saved and she wouldn't let the blonde trail this path alone.

Regina heard steps coming from the top of the stairs and brought herself upright quickly. As she finished drying her tears, she felt a hand touching her shoulder softly.

"Mom. Are you ok?"

"I will be, Henry dear. I need to get back to the library and keep looking for a way to save your stupid mother's life since she decided that dying would be a brilliant idea." She said dryly. "It seems like the darkness took over her brain quicker than it did her heart."

"Mom, you know what is the only way." Henry said taking his mother's hand.

"Henry, you can't possibly agree that Emma's death is the only way to save her." Regina said, looking at her son's eyes.

"No, I don't agree with that. That's not what I'm talking about." He replied.

"What is it that you're talking about? What is this other way?" Regina asked pursing her lips.

"Mom, you have to be brave. You were right, from the beginning. You know that." Henry said softly.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about, Henry." Regina said, feeling her cheeks blushing slightly.

"Yes, you do. The true love's kiss. It's the most powerful thing in the world and it will expel the darkness from a heart that is mainly pure. And once the darkness is out, we can destroy the dagger and mom will be safe." He said calmly.

"But it didn't work, Henry. Hook kissed her and it didn't work." Regina said, facing the floor.

"Because Hook is not her true love. He never was." Henry said, smiling softly and looking into the woman's eyes. "Mom, it will work. You can save her."

"What… What if I'm wrong? What if it's not like that?" Regina asked with fear in her voice.

"You have to try, mom. You don't have much time. Grandpa said Robin was on his way to the woods, they want to do it now. You have to stop them. Please mom. Be brave. Save her."

Regina nodded and took her son's hand, breathing deeply.

"Let's go then. We don't have much time."

* * *

Regina ran like she never had before. She didn't even know it was possible to run that fast wearing heels, especially through the leaves and vines that flooded the ground in the woods of Storybrook. But she could not control herself; she had a job to do, she needed to save Emma and she couldn't control the fear that slowly took over the whole of her body. What if she was too late? What if she got there only to find Emma's body with an arrow pierced deep into her chest? No, she couldn't let that happen, so she sped up even more.

But this was not the only thought that haunted her mind. What if she was wrong? What if it didn't work? Not only Emma would still die by the hands of Robin Hood, but she would reveal her biggest secret in front of everyone and for nothing. She looked to her side and saw Henry running with her towards the place David said they would be. The boy had a serious expression but she could see that he was also scared. He didn't want to lose her mum and Regina knew she would do anything to protect her son from that pain and, truth be told, to protect herself from that pain.

When they arrived at the small glade where the sacrifice would happen, Regina saw Emma standing on the centre, she was dressed with nothing but a grey long dress, her blonde hair falling heavily over her shoulders. The woman had a blank expression on her face, as if she was not feeling anything. The brunette looked around and saw Mary Margaret and David holding each other, tears falling freely from their eyes. A few steps in front of Emma, the dagger laid on the floor and Leroy stood with his pickaxe right next to it. She could see the pickaxe was glowing, probably enchanted with a powerful spell performed by the blue fairy to make his tool capable of destroying the dagger once the darkness left Emma's lifeless body and returned to the object.

On the other side of the glade, she saw Robin Hood, his bow in one hand and the arrow in the other, stretched to the maximum, ready to shoot. Regina felt the air escaping her lungs when she saw him pulling the string even further back, only waiting for Emma to tell him when she was ready. It would be any time now. She looked at Henry who started to pool tears in his eyes.

"Go! Now! Please, save her!" He said as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Regina nodded to her son and took a deep breath before starting running again, this time towards the centre of the glaze.

"Stop! Emma, don't do this!" She shouted as she put herself in front of the blonde, obstructing the way of Robin's arrow.

"Regina, what are you doing?" Emma asked, widening her eyes.

"You can't do this, Emma." She said, panting.

"Yes, I can." She said slowly "Robin, you can shoot."

"Emma, there is a way. Please don't do this." She said in despair.

"Regina, get out of the way. The arrow will go through you and you will die too. Do you want Henry to lose both his mothers?" Emma asked.

"He doesn't have to lose any of his mothers."

"Robin! Do it, now!" Emma shouted, her gaze locked with Regina's.

"The true love's kiss. Is the most powerful thing in the world." Regina said, taking a step closer.

"It… It didn't work." Emma said in a whisper.

The women's attention was caught by Henry as he desperately started shouting and running towards them but his gaze was pointed at Robin Hood who obliged to Emma's request and released the bow's string, making the arrow start its journey to Emma's heart.

Regina turned her eyes to Emma , and she felt like everything was moving in slow motion. She locked gazes with the blonde and felt like she could drown in that green. Taking one more step closer, she brought her face as close as possible to Emma's, her lips touching the blonde's ear.

"The true love's kiss only works if you're being kissed by your true love." She said so quietly Emma could hardly hear it.

The brunette pulled back slightly and and looked into Emma's eyes once more before pulling in again and closing the space between them. She felt the younger woman's lips touching hers as if it was the softest of the velvets, as if the shape of her mouth was designed to fit hers. She placed her hands on Emma's hips and pulled the blonde closer to her, deepening the kiss. It tasted like darkness, tears, fear and relief. It tasted sweet, it tasted as perfect as she always thought it would.

Regina felt a strong wave of magic taking over her body and Emma's, creating some sort of power field around them. Robin's arrow hit the wall of magic and broke in hundreds of pieces much to everyone's surprise. The magical field around the women grew bigger and stronger as they hungrily explored each other's mouths with their tongues, as if there was no one else in the world other than them.

After what felt like an eternity and at the same time, not long enough, Regina felt her body being violently pushed away from Emma. She looked as the blonde fell on her knees, releasing a guttural scream as the magical field around them started to shrink and surround the blonde only. Regina felt as Henry ran to her side and threw his arms around her, watching as the blonde collapsed on the floor, the waves of magic still pressed against her body.

With another scream Emma stood up and opened her arms as the Dark One's spirit left her body and started hovering above the woods. The black creature flew over everyone's heads as Mary Margaret and David ran to their daughter's side, as if they could protect her from the darkness that was around them all.

In the middle of the glade, the dagger started glowing and the Dark One's spirit was attracted to the object, placing itself inside it and making it start floating only just above the ground.

"Leroy! Now!" Regina shouted and the miner nodded, swinging his pickaxe and hitting the dagger perfectly in the middle.

A loud, flameless explosion was heard as the dagger got shattered in a thousand pieces, and from that moment on, the Dark One was no more.

Regina watched as Henry ran towards Emma who slowly opened her eyes.

"Henry...Mom, Dad… What happened?" The blonde said as she brought one hand to her forehead. She widened her eyes as the memories of what had just occurred flooded her mind. "Regina!" She said and took her father's hand to stand up.

"Regina!" She called once again as she walked towards the older woman who stood with her arms crossed on her chest.

"Miss Swan." Regina replied with a grin on her lips. "I told you there was another way. From all your terrible ideas, getting yourself killed is definitely one of the worst ones."

Emma felt a smile grow on her lips as she stood only a couple of inches away from the older woman.

"You saved me." The blonde said softly as she watched Regina lower her head and face the floor.

"No, Emma." Regina said in a whisper. She then raised her head and locked gazes with the blonde. "You saved me. And for that I will be eternally grateful."

"How… How did you know? The kiss…" Emma asked shyly.

"I didn't." Regina said with a smile. "As a matter of fact I was terrified that it wouldn't work. But someone told me to be brave. That I knew what I had to do and that it would work."

"Who said that?" Emma asked curiously.

"Henry." Regina replied. "He seem to always have noticed." She took a step closer to the blonde. "The way we look at each other and the way we seem to be drawn to each other."

"Clever boy." Emma said as she closed the space between them.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's waist and, for the first time in a very, very long time, she felt in peace. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be. She felt like finally, she would have the true love she deserves. With Emma and Henry as a family.

 **THE END**


End file.
